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Its been just over a year since the world began shutting down. Around March 2020, Classroom learning was suspended, parents became teachers overnight and the screen (laptop, phone, tablet) became the mode of communication and delivery. Teachers became IT professionals, while “the cloud” (just like Apple & Amazon) had more than one meaning. Teams and Zoom effectively became bywords for communication tools.

As the pandemic developed, first came the panic as cities hollowed out (for the lucky few), followed by determination that we will defeat this, accompanied by the positive spin that our new lives were better, more calmer and family time was precious.

12 months on and reality is sinking in, if not sunk in. Parents can never replace teachers (the sigh of relief, jumps of joy, etc, in the UK on Monday as schools reopened was telling!), and zoom can never replace schools and classroom. However, many are also realising that technology does have an important role to play, and education is a collaborative approach between teacher, parents and the community. Many kids appreciate their teachers and parents more and are perhaps even more grateful for their friends. If having exams caused anxiety for children, the cancellation of exams in the UK seemed to have caused even more anxiety and panic for both parents and children.

All of this seems to suggest that while change is required, the approach needs to be considered, calculated and outcome driven. Companies of all shapes and sizes have rushed out solutions (some brand new, some modified), without as much as a second thought around outcomes and the long term implications. EdTech has become the new arena for commercialisation, but with a significant part of the world still trying to work out what Ed(ucation) it needs, incorporating Tech(nology) into the equation is not the do all, solve all solutions.

Digital skills are important, but it is even more important to develop broader skillset – interpersonal skills, non-digital communication skills, teamwork among others – and create an environment outside the screen. Culture, Dance, Music, Sport is just as, if not more important for our mental and physical wellbeing.

The mental effects are only just beginning to show, with phenomena like “Zoomed out”, “Teams Fatigue” are now a regular occurrence. Children who are introverted, or from areas with poor connectivity, or simply resource poor (not everyone has the latest device), often struggle to engage and beginning to suffer from low morale and self-worth.

Therefore, schools are now even more important, and it is critical that resources need to be focused on the right areas to improve the schools and the education system as a whole for the future, making it more resilient, more adaptable and more accessible.

As the past 12 months how shown us, technology can help fill the gaps, but it can never replace our need for social human interaction and 12 months on, it is clear that the schools of the future will need to have an element of blended learning to make it inclusive, accessible and resilient to whatever the future may hold.

During the COVID pandemic schools globally were faced with no classroom based learning. While the decision was made to close schools undoubtedly saved lives, but posed disruption to students.

While schools scramble to adjust to the new norm, Learning Possibilities took this initiative to enhance their Lp+365 product to ensure that new but secure  features were made available for students to use for their on-line experience.

App Feature Updates:

• e-Library – The e-library is a selection of over 15,000 educational titles, including classics, from around the world that have been part of the foundations of education for centuries.

All books are available to download onto any device and can even be viewed offline.

The search and filter options help you to find the exact content that you are looking for and you can also mark books as favourites to make them easily available from the favourites Tab.

Collections are groups of books on a particular subject that are presented together for your convenience.

• White-label – Partner now have the option to White-label the App.

General Updates:

• Security – Bug fixes to address vulnerabilities.
• Skype Chat – Skype chat has been removed from the App as Microsoft are withdrawing the product.

We are delighted to announce that our CEO, Dr Mehool Sanghrajka, has been awarded Top 20 Asian Tech Pioneer in the UK for 2020. Full details of the list are below.

“2020 has been a very difficult year for schools and businesses, and I am delighted that our efforts to help schools cope with this pandemic and give them a blueprint for the future have been recognised.  I thank the amazing team at Learning Possibilities for all that they do. We look forward to working with even more schools in 2021.”, said Mehool.

Details of the award can be found here:

Asian Tech Pioneers 2020 – Asian Stars in UK Tech (asiansintech.com)

I was excited to have been recently interviewed by the London Law Collective, on my inspirations, successes and challenges in founding Learning Possibilities, a social enterprise, and advice I would offer to others. You can see the interview on their website.